Part II
Avatar Aang returned to his body and looked up at the waning moon. The new moon and the Winter Solstice was coming soon, and this was probably one of the reasons the hauntings had become so numerous and violent. Aang and the others were unwelcome guests and the ghosts were telling them to leave. Getting up he took his staff and walked out of the mediation hall and down to this quarters. He turned right to see Sokka, Suki and baby Aki. Sokka looked serious.
"I got a letter saying Katara was hurt. What happened, did extremists from the Fire Nation try to assassinate her? Are you okay Aang?" Aang motioned to follow him into his private study and he began to explain the hauntings to Sokka, Suki and now Toph who had been waiting for them.
"Okay let me get
this straight. Ghosts and all sorts of spooks and creepies have been
bugging you, Katara and the residents here. They have been doing
weird crap and then this "grotesque" showed up and knocked the
shit out Katara in the middle of the night," repeated Toph with
lift of her eyebrows. Aang nodded, "Well Katara is fine now, she is
in the li-" Toph interrupted:
"So, after talking to this rat
spirit of the dead, now you have to do something to make the spirits
stop trying to kill you!?" Aang nodded, looking a bit shamed. Suki
crossed her arms and leaned back.
"What are you going to do, Aang? The poltergeists here are making the residents leave." Aang rolled his eyes.
"I know that! But I don't know what to do." Sokka, who was bouncing Aki on his knee, cocked his head.
"Aang…have you left an offering to them, or something to acknowledge them? Maybe some of these "attacks" have been them trying to get your attention." Aang rubbed his chin.
"That's probably
it, they are probably happy that I have returned but upset that I can
no longer interact with them and maybe they still hurt from the
past." Toph crossed her arms.
"So are ya going to leave them
a dumpling or something Twinkle Toes? And say "My bad! Didn't
think you mind!" and leave them alone?" Aang got up from his seat
and scratched his neck.
"No, I have something else in mind."
Katara watched as Aang began to light incense and candles. Gifts of fruit pies, ginger candy, toys, a Pai Sho board, and other offerings were left on a small stone altar. Above the altar was an airbender mandala and air whorl. Aang sat cross-legged and had his hands on his knees. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly as he tried to contact the spirits that lurked in the temple. Slowly he felt something tugging on him. Pulled from his pose he opened his eyes to find himself in a well-lit room with several boys and a few elders enjoying the offerings given to them. Aang blinked as he noticed he was twelve again. The boys tackled him and laughed.
"Aang! Aang you came back! We all knew you would! Thank you for the presents! I missed having ginger candy!" The older monks looked at the boys sourly as they took the Pai Sho board. One took the pipe and smoke-weed and seemed quite pleased. The older monks bowed to Aang and said thank you.
"These will do nicely. Thank you for acknowledging us Avatar. Now…now we can rest." The younger boys snacked on the treats as the elders disappeared. Aang tried to get their attention.
"Hey can I ask you guys a favor?" The boys all looked at each other and one stepped forward.
"Sure Avatar, anything you want!" Aang smiled he leaned back on his arms and said, "Can you boys be a little more respectful of the people living here? I am sorry I didn't ask permission when we moved back in. I apologize for trespassing and angering you." The boy smiled softly.
"It's okay Aang, we're sorry for the pranks, we were just worried that you had forgotten us. So we did a few things to see if you could still hear and see us. We didn't mean to hurt anyone, but some of us are ready to go home anyway so we won't be bothering you and your wife. However, I'll still hang out and keep an eye on you and your family, Aang, if that's okay?" Aang smiled and nodded.
"That's fine as long as you don't hurt or scare anyone." The boy's face brightened. "Thank you so much Aang!" Aang got up and then asked the boy who was still lingering on:.
"Can you tell me your name?" The boys all began to disappear leaving the last one smiling and waving good-bye. Aang blinked and realized he was still in the altar room. The altar was empty. It seemed that like nomads were no longer going to be a problem. Aang got up and heard a small voice.
I'm Tenzin, Avatar!
After a few weeks, things finally returned to normal. Katara was happy that the haunting stopped. Aang enjoyed the peace in the temple again. Occasionally he would hear laughter in empty halls, but he realized that it was just Tenzin. Each night he would leave a peach on the altar only to find it missing an hour later or less. However as the day of the solstice arrived, all the good that was happening was suddenly ruined with a scream and a smash.